Politics Hits Home As New Group Moves In

April 11, 1989|By Don Boyett, Seminole County Editor

It has been brewing for most of a year. One, then another, and another of the movers and shakers bailed out, and the umbrella group of Seminole homeowner organizations seemed to change course. Now, a new organization is about to challenge the old homeowners league, perhaps touching off an important and interesting political struggle.

The Seminole County League of Homeowners Associations has been an off-and-on potent force in Our County for, oh, 17 or 18 years. It has been the soil for grass-roots politics and the quiet vehicle for numerous community improvements.

Of late, though, many believe its influence has been more off than on. Since many of its hardest workers bailed out, it has been characterized as a nest of naysayers, more content to oppose than progress.

The root of the breakup is politics. The league's new leaders are strong supporters of freshmen county commissioners Pat Warren and Jennifer Kelley.

Though the new group's organizational meeting has not been scheduled, already it may have more homes lined up than are represented by the old league. Much of those are thanks to two major homeowner groups on the west side that have previously eschewed league membership. Certainly its organizing cadre is impressive.

Tentatively called the Seminole County Alliance of Homeowners Associations, its prime mover is Ernie Hatton, a former league president. Working with him are two other former league activists, Dan Bushrui and John Tracy.

Also conspicuous by their presence are Dick Harris, president of the mammoth Wekiva Homeowners Association, and Ginger Bowman, president of the Sweetwater Oaks association. In the past, those groups could never be enticed to join the league.

Alliance organization has been swift. Larry Gaskins, league president, had not heard of it until I called. As might be expected, he talked of the need to work together, rather than separately, and predicted the fledgling group will soon fade away.

But even Gaskins conceded that many of the league's initiatives were the brainchildren of Hatton, and much of the hard work had been done by Tracy and Bushrui.

Hatton refuses to denigrate the league or its leaders. It is no secret, however, that he resigned as president last year after a strange reprimand from its board. After informing the board of his intention to attend a regional mass transportation symposium, he was castigated at the next meeting for attending. Some on the board said it could have indicated league support of some new tax proposal.

Already, several board members had resigned over shifting emphases, and Hatton followed.

Ironically, Hatton was a Warren supporter, primarily because of her strong environmental and pro-tree stands. Hatton is widely known as ''Ernie Appleseed'' for his extensive arbor efforts.

In lining up the Wekiva and Sweetwater groups, Hatton scored a coup. Wekiva has 2,700 homes and Sweetwater 1,450. Several south Seminole subdivisions are expected to switch their allegiance, which would bring the total to the 10,000 to 15,000 homes now represented by the league.

Already, Hatton and his team are working other fertile areas of non-league membership, including Sanford, Lake Mary, Geneva and Oviedo. With such an extensive power base, the alliance, if successful, would be a force to be reckoned with, especially with its leadership.